To make this list as complete as possible we can use your help. If you know of cases not covered, or know of articles not listed with the cases, please subscribe to this group and help maintain this section of the website or send links and articles to this mail address.

Location

Sent by her adoptive mother to the Attachment Center at Evergreen (ACE), Andrea H. Swenson was put through the usual “two-week intensive,” but then diagnosed as so “damaged” that she had to stay on for periodic treatments at ACE, and live with AT-trained therapeutic foster parents (TFPs), at a cost to the family’s insurance company of $3,500 a week. Supposedly, Andrea made slow progress in the arrangement, until the insurance payments ran out. Whereupon, Watkins and the TFPs began pressuring the adoptive family to allow the TFPs to adopt her — and thereby get new insurance coverage. (Connell Watkins was clinical director at ACE)

One day in November 1990, Andrea returned to her foster home from school and reported to the TFPs that she had been sexually molested at school, which they regarded as typical “Attachment Disorder” behavior — false, manipulative, and attention-getting.

The next day, Andrea took an overdose of aspirin. She was in convulsions and delirious the next morning, but the TFPs did not attend her, and instead went bowling that afternoon. While they were gone, a relative visited the house and found Andrea dead in a hallway.

13 year old boy adopted from Donetsk Ukraine in 2003 with 2 biological siblings, was shot and killed by his adoptive father William Alan Butler while target shooting with handguns in their backyard. Mr. Butler said he was shot at while his back was turned so he turned and shot back. Seventy-three year old William Butler pleaded guilty to child neglect resulting in death and was sentenced to 3-15 years.

Location

4-year-old boy, in foster to adoption placement with Larry and Hannah Overton, was forced to drink a mixture of water and Cajun spices as punishment. The Overtons waited nearly three hours before taking the boy to an urgent care clinic as he vomited and drifted in and out of consciousness. When they arrived, Andrew was no longer breathing. A day later he died -- 4 months after his placement with the Overtons. Andrew Axel Burd died of hypernatremia or salt poisoning. Andrew consumed the equivalent of 23 teaspoons of Zatarain's Creole Seasoning or 6 teaspoons of pure salt. He also had head trauma as well as bruises and scratches.

Hannah Overton (nee Saenz) was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life; Larry Overton pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and is on 5 years probation.

Mrs Overton and her church, Calvary Chapel of the Coastlands, continue to appeal her conviction in various ways. She maintains that Andrew ate the salt himself, however Andrew's former foster mother, who attended the same church testified she had not seen any pica or eating issues with Andrew during the 18 months he was in her home. (In an unusual coincidence, Hannah's father Bennie Saenz, a former Calvary Chapel pastor, was convicted of murder in 1985.) Overtons homeschooled their school age children. They had 4 bio children and Hannah was 6 months pregnant when Andrew died.

Hannah Overton was released from prison in December 2014. The case was dismissed in April 2015.

23-month-old Andrew Ibarra was in foster care with Cynthia Jackson, who beat him to death. He had a brain hemorrhage, a broken rib and other injuries. Five other foster children, Andrew Haley, Tyler Donovan, Kenneth Shoemaker, James S and Michael M. were also abused. Most of those children had suffered broken bones. Children had been removed from the home due to suspected abuse prior to Andrew's death.

Location

4-year-old girl adopted by Mary Perkins was allegedly beaten to death by her adoptive mother. There were also signs Angel had been sexually abused. Angel Martin was adopted six months prior to her death.

Location

3-month-old girl in foster care with Sabrina Stafford died of neglect. Her twin sister Tiffany had barbiturates in her system. Angelic's death was called accidental, although there had been previous complaints against Sabrina Stafford.

Several year later Sabrina Stafford, then going by the name Sabrina Banks, would adopt Lavender Banks, who died from asphyxia and several blunt force injuries. Sabrina Banks was arrested for murder August 5, 2009.

Location

Angellika Arndt, died from asphyxiation a day after she was wrestled to the ground and held face first on the ground in a chokehold for over an hour by caregivers at Rice Lake Day Treatment Center. She was in Milwaukee County's foster care system at the time.

At least 2 teen-aged boys brought to Vancouver, WA, from Colombia by Catholic priest James Mitchell. He promised them U.S. citizenship via adoption and then subjected them to years of sexual abuse. At least 4 boys lived with Mitchell over the years. Ariel and L.M. have alleged sexual abuse. Ariel was told he was adopted by Mitchell, but was only granted US visa. It is unclear if the boys were ever legally adopted.

Asunta Yong Fang Basterra Porto, a 12 year old girl adopted from China as an infant, was found dead shortly after she was reported missing by her parents. Her divorced parents, Rosario Porto and Alfonso Basterra, have both been arrested. According to reports, the motive could be economic; researchers are trying to determine if the girl was the recipient of an inheritance left by the maternal grandparents.

Date: 2013-09-27

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Death by unknown cause

Abuser: Undetermined

Location

Austin (left) Edward (right)
Two brothers, adopted by Edward and Linda Bryant, both went missing. Edward (age 9 at the time) disappeared in 2001. Austin (age 7 at the time) disappeared in 2003. One of the boys was reportedly denied food, spanked, forced to run up and down stairs and rolled up tightly in blankets as punishment. Bryants reported they were advised to roll the children in blankets "like a burrito" by a Colorado therapist.

The Bryant's moved to Texas in 2005 and never declared the boys missing. They kept receiving adoption subsidies for the remainder of the decade, grossing in $175,000. They were arrested early 2011.

Almost 5 year old boy starved to death while he and his 2 sibs were in foster care with his grandmother, Janice Mowdy, and aunt, Stephanie Bell. Austin Watkins was only 19 lbs when he died, and had not eaten in 2 weeks. The 3 other children in the home (sibs 9 & 6, 2 yr cousin Bell) were given adequate nutrition. Mowdy and Bell both pleaded guilty and got life without parole.

5 month old girl died after being abused by Wilson Lee Tubbs III, aka Josh Tubbs. She had 2 skull fractures and numerous bruises after being in the home about 5 weeks. Tubbs' wife was related to the baby girl's parents

Date: 2012-12-02

Placement type: Foster care

Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse

Abuser: Foster father

Location

2-year-old boy adopted from Taiwan along with his twin brother by Dr. James Peter Yhip and Edelyn Magakat Yhip was killed by blunt force trauma to his head. Previously the boy had been hospitalized for malnutrition and broken bones. Their daughter was adopted from China.
Both parents were arrested on suspicion of murder with Edelyn believed to have caused the head trauma.

Bethany Loerke was adopted from foster care at age 5 along with her younger bio sister. Sexual abuse by her adoptive father Dr. James Loerke began almost immediately and continued until Bethany told her adoptive mother when she was nearly 11. James Loerke pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual molestation and was sentenced to 20 years, which was later reduced to 15 years.

At 20 years old, Bethany chose to waive her anonymity to help other victims, and to help others understand the connection between childhood trauma and later juvenile delinquency.

Date: 2012-04-22

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Sexual abuse

Abuser: Adoptive father

Location

Boy purchased from a Russian woman at 5 days old in 2005 by an Australian gay couple (Mark J. Newton and Peter Truong) was sexually abused by them, by other men, and used in pornography before he was 2 years old until he was removed from their care in 2011 at age 6. He was abused in numerous countries including Australia, USA, Germany and France. When originally arrested in California by the FBI, the men claimed they were being targeted because they were homosexual.
It is not clear how long the men were in the US before the child was removed from their care. The boy was originally claimed to be the biological son of Newton conceived by surrogacy in Russia. He may have been adopted by one of the men while they were in California using fake paperwork.

Mark J. Newton (Australian-USA dual citizen), 42, was sentenced to 40 years in prison and $400,000 in restitution to the child. His boyfriend, Peter Truong (Australian), 36, pleaded guilty but has not yet been sentenced.

A boy was sexually abused by his adoptive father, a 43 year old Lower Mainland area man. The man had previously helped build an orphanage in Mexico and mentored vulnerable children through Big Brothers. The man had extensive child pornography in his home and the abuse was discovered as a result of the Project Spade international porn bust.

Date: 2013-01-01

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Sexual abuse

Abuser: Adoptive father

Location

9-year-old boy, adopted by Alona and Rodger Hartwig was hospitalized for more than a month with burns and other severe injuries allegedly inflicted by his adoptive parents. H e was beaten, thrown into a creek, fed formula to keep off weight and often made to sleep without a blanket on a porch at the family’s Blachly home.

3-year-old boy, adopted by Osanna and Angel Bravo from foster care was found unconscious in a bathroom, requiring immediate surgery for a skull fracture and brain bleeding. The adoptive parents were arrested on suspicion of multiple counts of child abuse.

3-year-old boy adopted by Brandon and Desiree Antle was physically abused by his adoptive father. The boy suffered a bump and laceration requiring stitches on the forehead in one incident and bruises on the face, neck, back and buttocks in the other.

Location

For over a decade a boy adopted by Claude Edward Foulk, was allegedly sexually abused by his adoptive father. Faulk allegedly abused five other children, while working at a mental facilities in Southern California.

Date: 2010-02-24

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Sexual abuse

Abuser: Adoptive father

Location

11-year-old boy, one of 5 adopted by a couple from Colorado Springs, was forced to spend days and nights in a small room beneath stairs with only a wool blanket and bucket in which to relieve himself. When he wasn't confined to that space, he was forced to masturbate in front of siblings, do calisthenics in the nude, wear a dog shock collar, and he was forced to eat his meals on the floor while the rest of the family dined at the table.

On good days, the adopted boy lived in a sparse basement day room, kept separate from the rest of the family.

According to the adoptive mother, she followed suggested therapies for his attachment disorder, such as employing reverse psychology and making him earn his meals and play time through good behavior.

She said one unlicensed therapist, Deborah Hage of Silverthorne, told her to put the boy in the space beneath the stairs when he was bad.

Hage wouldn't comment on the case and said she was "never the family therapist."

Prosecutors didn't seek felony convictions in this case because they could not prove the child suffered serious physical injury.

14-year-old boy was adopted from foster care by Donald Shissler with the intent to sexually abuse him. At least two other boys were also abused by Shissler, who made sexual explicit photos and videos of the boys while engaging in sexual activity. Shissler was a former Episcopalian priest, high school teacher, and foster parent.

Date: 2002-05-31

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Sexual abuse, Sexual exploitation

Abuser: Adoptive father

Location

In the 1970's a 9-year-old boy was adopted by Douglas Burnham and molested for years. Burnham was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse in 1983 and received probation. Burnham continued to molest children and in March 2011 was sentenced to 12 1/2 years.

Location

5-year-old boy, adopted by Frank M. Lombard and his partner Kenneth Shipp was allegedly sexually abused by his adoptive father, Lombard. In a sting operation by Washington DC, Metropolitan Police Department, Lombard was arrested offering his adopted son for sexual exploitation over the internet. There was a 2nd child in the household. Shipp may have been unaware of the abuse.

Location

19-year-old mentally disabled boy adopted by James and Linda Ramaglia was sexually abused by his adoptive father, who was a convicted sex offender and who had served four-and-a-half years in prison for molesting two of his other children.

Date: 2009-08-24

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Sexual abuse

Abuser: Adoptive father

Location

4-year-old boy from Taganrog, Rostov, Russia, adopted by Jane and Timothy Cochran. The boy had severe bruising, cuts from head to toe. He'd been beaten by hand and with a wooden spoon and had been cut with scissors. Allegedly he was beaten because he couldn't say his prayers properly. Jane confessed her crimes to her Catholic priest prior to being arrested.

A boy adopted at age 10 from California in 1983 by Jay Ram (aka Gary Winnick) was later sexually, physically and psychologically abused while living on the Big Island. The boy was isolated on a farm and required to work. Ram had at least 6 boys (5 adopted and 1 foster) in 1993. He also had 3 adult sons, unclear of bio/adopted status.
Tehama County California had investigated physical abuse allegations in mid 1980's. A visiting boy reported sexual abuse in 1992.
Jay Ram worked for the Tropical Rural and Island/Atoll Development Experiment Station (TRIADES) and later Agrinom. He is believed to have moved to Saipan., and in 2013 is believed to be somewhere in Africa. He was located in Odessa Florida living under the name Jay Mizraha along with 3 boys or young men.

18 month old boy, adopted from Guatemala, shaken 6 weeks after arriving in his new home by his mother Jennie D. Malak, an LPN. His adoptive father was not charged. The parents are estranged. The boy is now living at home with his adoptive father, where he is still recovering from various physical and neurological injuries.

Jennie or Jeannie Malak had been treated for psychiatric disorders for several years prior to the adoption. Malaks presented a forged letter from her doctor attesting that she was mentally fit to adopt the children.

Date: 2001-07-17

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse

Abuser: Adoptive mother

Location

10-year-old boy, adopted by Jennifer Louise Barnes was sexually tortured by his adoptive mother, burning his penis with a lighter and sodomizing him with a toothbrush, forcing dog feces into his mouth and taping it shut using duct tape.

Date: 2010-05-01

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Sexual abuse

Abuser: Adoptive mother

Location

A 15-year-old boy adopted by single-father Jeremiah Lovato, was repeatedly beaten with a 2-by-2 piece of lumber and suffered long time physical abuse. After the boy's school suspected abuse, his father decided to "home school him".

Date: 2010-01-08

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse

Abuser: Adoptive father

Home schooling: yes

Location

Boy of 7 was sexually abused by his adoptive father continuously until he was 13 years old in the late 1970s and 1980s. Adopted father Joseph L. Hunt was a police officer, scout leader, and coach. Hunt admitted to the abuse, pled guilt and was sentenced to 41 months in jail. Joe Hunt was married and there were at least 2 other girl children in the home.

Location

6-year-old boy adopted from foster care by Kathlyn Anthony was forced to sleep in a plastic dog crate. Connecticut Department of Children and Families investigated previous allegations of abuse, but wasn't able to substantiate those.

Date: 2011-03-07

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation

Abuser: Adoptive mother

Location

14-year-old boy adopted by Kimberly Durlin was sexually abused by his adoptive mother. Durlin expressed that the sexual abuse started in an attempt to bond with her adopted son. According to news reports, when the detective contacted the boy's adopted father for a follow-up interview, the man allegedly told the officer that he didn't want to hear any more details about the case and said he planned on giving up his parental rights.

Date: 2015-04-11

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Sexual abuse

Abuser: Adoptive mother

Location

A boy, adopted by Lee M Rager and Diana J. Haley was allegedly tortured by his adoptive parents. He was kept locked in his room and tied up while being beaten. The boy was removed from school twice to prevent further investigations into child abuse.

A boy adopted from foster care by Edward and Lori Drones had all but $15 of his $830,000 trust fund spent by his adoptive parents in the 12 months after they gained control of the funds. They adopted the previously abused boy at age 11 and successfully sued the State of Alaska on his behalf a few years later.

Location

5-year-old boy with Down syndrome, adopted by Mark and Ruthann Gneiser, was allegedly beaten by his adoptive mother so badly that he defecated in his pants. She then made the boy sit in scalding hot bath water.